People who live in a house for a time, then others come and claim it

Shu'bah (may Allah have mercy on him) said: I asked Hammad about a man who lived in a house for some time, and then some people came and produced witnesses that this house belonged to their forefathers. He said: "No, not until they produce witnesses to the effect that the house is still theirs today."

It is narrated from al-Harith: When a house is a khittah (a plot allotted to one owner) and the people wish to divide it, it is divided according to inheritance: the inheritance of the deceased owner of the plot. If any person, whether one of the heirs or someone else, claims more than what falls to him by inheritance, he must bring proof of what he claims: that so-and-so gave it to him in charity, or gave it to me as a gift, or sold it to me for such-and-such a price. If a wife or a husband of one of the deceased's children makes a claim, that person is required to bring proof that so-and-so inherited from so-and-so, or that such-and-such a woman inherited from so-and-so, or that the owner of the plot died before her, or she before him, and that the inheritance passed accordingly; then that person takes his right. If a man from the children of the owner of the plot makes a claim in it, and those who hold it deny his share, then the claimant must bring proof that so-and-so died before so-and-so, that so-and-so inherited from him, and that I inherited from him afterwards. If the heirs acknowledge that the owner of the house had a wife, and her family claim her share, it is established against them. If they say: "He divorced her before his death," then they must bring proof that he had divorced her; otherwise the inheritance is due to her. If the house was acquired by purchase and is in the hands of certain people, it belongs to those who hold it. If any person makes a claim in it, he must bring proof that he has a right in it.

Amir said: Among the new things people have introduced, nothing is stranger to me than their saying: "He testifies that it is his today."